QUETTA, Pakistan — A senior al Qaeda leader suspected of plotting attacks against economic targets in the United States, Europe and Australia has been arrested in Pakistan, the army announced Monday.

In Washington, a US official told FOX News the capture of Younis al Mauritani was “another major blow to al Qaeda,” adding that he is a “seasoned, senior operative trusted by the group’s top leaders. He played an absolutely central role in planning and coordinating al Qaeda’s operations in Europe, plots that targeted both European and American interests.

“This victory shows the continuing strength and value of US-Pakistani counterterrorism cooperation. The Pakistanis deserve real credit for their hard investigative and operational work … The US provided critical lead information and technical assistance in working with Pakistan to eliminate the threat posed by this terrorist.”

Al Mauritani was picked up in the suburbs of the southwestern city of Quetta along with two other high-ranking operatives, AFP reported.

The arrests are another strike at the global terror network, four months after al Qaeda chief Usama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by covert US forces, leading to a souring of ties between allies Islamabad and Washington.

With al Mauritini’s arrest signaling a possible thaw in relations, the White House issued a statement calling it “an example of the longstanding partnership between the US and Pakistan in fighting terrorism, which has taken many terrorists off the battlefield over the past decade.

“We applaud the actions of Pakistan’s intelligence and security services that led to the capture of a senior al Qaeda operative who was involved in planning attacks against the interests of the United States and many other countries,” the statement said.

“In an intelligence-driven operation by Inter-Services Intelligence in coordination with Frontier Corps Baluchistan, a senior al Qaeda leader, Younis al-Mauritani, mainly responsible for planning and conduct of international operations, was nabbed,” a Pakistani army statement said.

The two other senior operatives arrested were Abdul Ghaffar al Shami and Messara al Shami, according to the Pakistani statement. It did not say when the arrests took place.

But two Pakistani security officials in Quetta, in Baluchistan province, told AFP the three men were arrested early last week in a late-night operation in Satellite town, an upmarket city suburb, along with two Pakistanis.

According to Pakistan’s army, al Mauritani was instructed by bin Laden to focus on economic targets in the United States, Europe and Australia, AFP said.

“He was planning to target United States economic interests including gas/oil pipelines, power generating dams and strike ships/oil tankers through explosive-laden speed boats in international waters,” the army said.